jazzfish | Others

Posted by an

https://www.transformativeworks.org/otw-signal-march-2026/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=281256

Every month in OTW Signal, we take a look at stories that connect to the OTW’s mission and projects, including issues related to legal matters, technology, academia, fannish history and preservation issues of fandom, fan culture, and transformative works.

In the News

An article published in February in the Dublin Inquirer highlights the fannish origins of author Diane Duane and how her experiences writing fanfiction influenced her career.

Inspired by a deep love of the (at the time) newly airing Star Trek: The Original Series, Duane began to craft stories featuring her favourite characters. Like many fans discovering a new world for the first time, she turned to storytelling as a way to explore it more deeply. The skills she developed while writing these stories would help her build a decades-long career as an author.

Duane found herself writing Trek “fan-fiction” – although, she says, she didn’t know that’s what it was called then.

Taking a sip of her cabernet sauvignon, she remembers her first effort as a crossover between Trek and musical sitcom The Monkees.

“I don’t know why I’m even admitting this in a public place, but it’s true,” she says, laughing.

Duane’s writing credits include novels and screenwriting work for well-known series from the Marvel, DC Comics and Disney franchises in addition to her original work. She remains engaged with the Star Trek fandom, enjoying the franchise’s recent series, Strange New Worlds.

Not all coverage is good coverage: When media threatens fandom takes a look at how sudden mainstream visibility can disrupt long‑standing fandom etiquette and trust built within fandom communities.

Using a recent article featured in Dexerto and the subsequent online backlash as an example, the author argues that when large media outlets introduce fanworks to broader, uninvolved audiences it can disrupt a community based on shared norms, and mutual understanding.

Fandom spaces used to be private, and fandom etiquette previously outlined a set of rules for fans. Now, media exposure turns these online communities mainstream, posing problems for authors when fan works are often created quietly and out of admiration for the source material — not a desire for attention.

The author stresses that ethical reporting on fandom requires recognizing fandom as a legitimate cultural practice that is shaped by decades of participatory storytelling, shared values, and communal identity.

OTW Tips

If you like keeping up with OTW news, our News by Email service has a new subscription option! It now has the ability to email you whenever volunteer recruitment opens. These emails are available only in English. Sign up to stay connected with the latest from the OTW! If you are already subscribed to our News by Email service and would like to change your subscription (to add this option or change it in some other way), contact Communications. They will be able to help you adjust your current subscription type.

We want your suggestions for the next OTW Signal post! If you know of an essay, video, article, podcast, or news story you think we should know about, send us a link. We are looking for content in all languages! Submitting a link doesn’t guarantee that it will be included in an OTW post, and inclusion of a link doesn’t mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

https://www.transformativeworks.org/otw-signal-march-2026/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=281256

rmc28

(some of these have had their own posts; some probably should; do ask me to expand in comments if you want more details!)

( four busy weeks )

April has two uni Nationals weekends in Sheffield (one each with Womens Blues and Huskies), a hockey camp in Hull, three other hockey games, hopefully some more theatre trips, and a movie date next week with Tony.

dewline

Some things for consideration and concern.

There are people in the wider US intel communities with more time than sense. Warning delivered by Andrew Coyne via The Globe and Mail:

https://archive.is/20260327185628/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-maga-plan-canada-dismemberment-darc-trump/

And the DARC essay itself, entitled "Our Canadian Problem":

https://archive.is/irCkw

To the DARC author in question, Canada's continuing autonomy and desire to preserve same is "anti-Americanism". A lot of you who keep in touch with me here are Americans who know far better than "John Waterman" of DARC and their fellow-travellers, thankfully.

Yes, both countries are standing on lands under Indigenous nations' stewardship, and they too rightly have informed opinions of their own on such arguments...

Current Mood: determined

summersgate

What a Marvelous Little Creature. This centipede just happened to already be glued into my book on the next page.

I had planned to go to a No Kings protest with Jules and Hazel in Clarion at noon but now I'm just not feeling it. I'd rather do my usual OA meeting and then come home to bury Skye and help Dave with the kitchen sink. We found out last night that it was leaking. Luckily the leak water all went into a basin that was stored under there. I had invited the usual Sunday dinner people to dinner tonight (because Hazel can't be here on Sunday) so I need to make a dinner too. Dave caught a bunch of fish recently that he wants to fry and I'm going to try the cabbage recipe again but this time with noodles and a more proper kind of veggie sausage. It feels like it'd just be a good day to lay low at home now.

cosmolinguist

In today's team meeting when we were talking about the upcoming week, my boss (gently!) made fun of me for not realizing that next Friday is a bank holiday -- the other day when I was talking to someone about a thing that had to be rearranged from another day next week, they suggested Friday so I told my manager she could do Friday and he had to tell me Friday's the bank holiday.

To add to the making fun of me, I said it was extra bad of me to not know this because it's D's and my anniversary. That made my manager properly laugh, heh.

Then he asked "How many years?" and I just made an "oh god..." kind of noise, which sounds suitably middle-aged like who's even counting any more. But really all it means is that the long run-up of being good friends makes it feel like we've been together longer than the technical answer (seven years now). I will always treasure the memory of when we'd been dating only like three months, getting a train home at night, a young woman who needed help gravitated toward the table we were sitting at and we got chatting. She asked where my accent was from and I told her and we talked about that, she looked at D and asked him if he'd ever gone with me, and he said "not yet!" (which was true, it'd be another four years before he did!). She'd clearly been assuming that we'd been a couple for ages, and I don't blame her at all because I do think we gave off that vibe. So then she asked how long we'd been together. And I was delighted by D's casual answer, "a few years," splitting the difference between the technical reality of three months or so, and the vibe of people who'd been close for more than a decade.

I tried to channel that spirit to answer my manager's question, split the difference, especially when he added "estimate!" I think I said "fifteen?", dragged out to have about fifteen e's in it, and as many question marks at the end.

mad_jaks posting in

dw100

Welcome to

dw100! Challenges are posted approximately once a week.

Challenge #1084 is singularity.

The rules:

All stories must be 100 words long
Please place your story behind a cut if it contains spoilers for any upcoming episodes
You don't have to use the challenge word or phrase in your story; it's just there for inspiration
Please include the challenge word or phrase in the subject line of your post
Please use the challenge tag 1084: singularity on any story posted to this challenge

Good luck!

thawrecka

In addition to marathon-ing the anime, I also speed ran the manga. I reread the entirety of the original Prince of Tennis manga this week, and I want you to know that nobody should do this to themselves. It is bad, and I feel bad. I will not be reading the sequel.

The beginning of the manga is about tennis. The end of the manga is about superpowers and pseudo mysticism and being willing to die on the tennis court. It is very very stupid.

(It's all on the Jump app 😂)

Anyway, thoughts on the anime inc. changes, more thoughts on the manga, etc.

Well it turns out the reason I remembered nothing about the Midoriyama matches is because they were pretty boring, but the jousei shonan matches that replaced that in the anime go on longer and are even more boring.

I forgot that thing where Ryoma's dad called kids toys to play with, what a douchebag.

I hate Rikkai ahahaha. Sanada beating people just makes him a douchebag.

The manga is funnier and more ridiculous than I remembered. The bowling episode comes straight from the manga!

I like Kaidoh's match with young Rokkaku guy in the manga, but I actually like Ryoma's match with him in the anime even more, it's fun and they seem to be having fun. That's probably the only adaptation change the anime makes that I actually like, though.

Fuji has his eyes open so much more in the manga. Also, I like temporarily blinded Fuji in the manga more but the selfless state nonsense is so dumb. What is with all the pseudo mystical nonsense?!?

Kaidou and Yagyuu dressing as each other to play doubles! And I just started the Nationals OVAS, and they did adapt that, yay!

It well and truly jumps the shark during the Shithenhoji matches. That boring doubles comedy duo comprised of homophobic stereotypes? They're not even funny! The pinnacles of mastery or whatever the fuck it was is so dull. I know it was slowly going that way, but it stopped being about anything remotely like real tennis, and started being about super powers and pseudo mystical nonsense. Inui and Tezuka doubles but it wastes the chance to be interesting about their partnership because Tezuka turns it into a singles game. Why?!? WHY?!?

The Rikkai matches were also so boring.

And like, remember early on when Fuji forfeits a match because Taka is injured and it's not actually good for adolescents to play injured? By the end Taka is like 'I am willing to die in this tennis match' and bleeding from every orifice and this is just how tennis works now in this world... The number of games where Seigaku players are bleeding all over the place by the end... I feel like by the end the mangaka forgot he wasn't supposed to be writing about superpowered samurai fighting each other to the death. It's only school sports! 🤣

I reached the bit towards the end of the anime where Ryoma's jetted off to America and Tezuka and Fuji have a match which, if I shipped them, would probably delight me, but as I don't... I'm mostly like, why is there so much exposition?! Well, because they haven't interacted much in the anime but the anime wants to sell this as a super intense relationship you just haven't been seeing so there has to be endless voice-overs about how this is so intense actually! I think it would work better if there had been more interaction between them throughout and there wouldn't have to be so much info-dumping. Also, LOL at the writers having to get Ryoma out of the country first, because realistically both Fuji and Tezuka have been way more intense at him than at each other. And why is this match three entire episodes long??

I feel like this is a writing issue - if there had been better set up long term there wouldn't need to be so much effort put into this 'no it's totally so intense you guys' thing now. I'm happy for the TezuFuji shippers, though, they must have loved this.

Also, LOL at the coach being like "tennis is like a game for him" about Fuji. Okay, but tennis is actually a game though?

Also, 12 year old Ryoma being invited to the US Open is A BRIDGE TOO FAR for me. NO! That is too stupid! And it sort of warps everything around it in the anime, which means that a bunch of scenes which were about Tezuka and people's relationships to Tezuka in the manga become about Ryoma in the anime but without the same emotional heft.

I am finally on to the Nationals OVAs, though, and I am enjoying myself. Even though Eiji basically cloning himself is so much stupider in the anime somehow. But I love Taka and Fuji's doubles match; they're nice boys who are friends and they enjoy tennis and bring interesting things to the game and that's really all I want.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Hyotei rematches animated. Those were basically the last bits of the manga I enjoyed, but also I really enjoyed them, so let's see if the anime lives up to that.

magnavox_23 posting in

fandom_icons

28 Stargate SG-1 icons from 1x13 Fire & Water

Check out the rest here. <3

cbc_topnews_feed

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/army-canada-mobilization-soldiers-9.7145446?cmp=rss

A balding man wearing army fatigues and glasses sits on a sofa in front of Canadian flags and speaks while gesturing with his hands.

Canada's army is preparing a sweeping reorganization just as the National Defence Department moves to finalize its mobilization plan. Senior commanders warn the current force is ill suited to a more dangerous world, with proposals under study to expand reserves and generate hundreds of thousands of additional personnel in a crisis.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/army-canada-mobilization-soldiers-9.7145446?cmp=rss

cbc_topnews_feed

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/tigers-hyena-exotic-animals-wainfleet-9.7142098?cmp=rss

The owner of three tigers and a hyena that are no longer living on a property in Wainfleet, Ont., is hopeful he'll someday be reunited with his animals, but it won't be in that rural township in Niagara that had ordered them removed for contravening an exotic animals bylaw.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/tigers-hyena-exotic-animals-wainfleet-9.7142098?cmp=rss

solo_knight

First Impressions: The Questgiver
(There is also a Quest Giver quest generator on itch which I may review eventually).

( Game Description )

Long game is long. Long game also needs a setting and characters and I have hundreds of games that I could play; and dozens that I really WANT to play. I also have three games I am currently meddling with, plus one I’m DMing, plus one I want to DM.

And… this is a story of betrayal. If I get it right and immerse myself, it will most likely break my heart. Right now, with the world on fire as it is, I am not seeking out heartbreak.

I am putting this game on ice until a time when I have the mental resilience to commit to a long-form game with guaranteed sadness.

What I’ve seen so far, I likes. This has 70+ pages of content, which means you’re not just shoved into a situation and told to cope; you get advice for each stage of the game and clear instructions. This puts it head and shoulders above other games for me.

Current Mood: curious

dine

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

ysabetwordsmith

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

If you were given the ability to reform how your country’s leaders were chosen and how they serve, what would you change?

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Incredible Video Shows Sperm Whales Come Together to Birth a Calf

The beautiful moment when an entire group of sperm whales came together to support the birth of a calf has, for the first time, been recorded in unprecedented detail.

Over several hours on 8 July 2023, scientists recorded two sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) family groups coming together in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Dominica, taking turns to assist with the birth and help the newborn calf stay at the surface to take its first breaths.

Species survival depends on cooperation.

Current Mood: busy

days_unfolding

Overslept until 8:15 AM. I’m feeling groggy. I forgot to scan my music for my lesson, so I’ll need to sneak it in (done). I really need to nap at lunchtime, so I’ll need to jump into the shower right after work.

And now it’s back to cold (34F/1C). Mother Nature is having whiplash.

I think that I want to get a Japanese Maple for the front yard. I found one that I like. And planting trees is a Good Thing. Oh, I forgot to mention that I got two ferns for the side yard. It will be tricky to figure out the right spot without the other ferns though. I’ll work it out. I need to check on the little crabapple tree after the storm. It’s okay.

I’ve perked up a bit, so I’m going to shower at lunchtime. No, I changed my mind again and want a nap (done).

The crazy dogs don’t want to come in even though it’s cold. They finally came in at a quarter to 3. Gracie was busy bugging the cats upstairs, but she seems to have settled down. Right now, she’s lying on her back with her front paws in the air.

Showered after work. My singing lesson went well. We made it through a long song. My teacher said that we should be proud of ourselves.

Fed us all. Ran an errand. Watched Harry Potter. Now I need to give the beasties their crunchies and head for bed.

twistedchick

This is a prayer for Baba Yaga. This is a prayer for Resistance.

This is a prayer for the magic of chicken feet, the heat of old hates, the way old bones hurt. This is a prayer for Resistance.

This is a prayer for hat knitters, sign-carriers, Congress-callers. Old women make up the Resistance.

This is a prayer for casserole-bakers, newsletter-writers, nuisances. Old women make up the Resistance.

This is a prayer for phone-bankers, neighborhood-canvassers, early-voters. Old women make up the Resistance.

When the Moon is full, I call to Her.

I bring coals for Her oven. I bring flour, to cover Her tracks. I bring paprika salve for Her old, sore joints.

I bring a list of complicit women. I bring a doll poked with pins and bound with vines. I bring a bottle of ancient anger.

“Come, Baba Yaga,” I say. “Come find me alone in the woods.”

She comes as she always comes: after a long, scary wait.

She comes as she always comes: riding a mortar, a mop handle, a big, black bird.

She comes as she always comes: hungry, grumpy, alone.

“Old One,” I cry, “We are deep in the darkness. We stand on the front lines, but we are afraid.”
Old One,” I say, “We are tired, our legs get shaky, our fingers are sore.”

“Old One,” I whisper, “It seems to us as if we have worked all our lives and only gone backwards.”

“Oh, shut up,” Baba Yaga says, grabbing all the cookies and putting them into her bag. “Give me those for my cat,” She demands, pointing to liver mousse, sausages, cheese.

She pulls down the skin below my eyes. “Not enough yogurt,” She decides.

“Oh,” She says, turning her chicken hut around and going way past the speed limit, “You’ll be fine. I saw it in some tea leaves. This all works out in the end.”

“Build you a fence made of bones,” She says. “Write this on your wrist: ‘By my mother’s blessing.’”

This is a prayer to Baba Yaga. This is a prayer for Resistance.

This is a prayer for women in sneakers. This is a prayer for Resistance.

This is a prayer for one more phone call. This is a prayer for Resistance.

-- by Hecate Demeter

* * *

She did not write one for Ostara, but I found this one, from near the same time of the year a few years ago, and I think it's suitable on the eve of NO KINGS.

apod_feed

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260327.html

Scanning the skies for galaxies, Canadian astronomer

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260327.html

torachan

1. Feeling relatively positive about some work stuff regarding the new system. I talked about it with my supervisor today, and hopefully we can get a decision by the time I get back from vacation. (Basically it's the IT department insisting things have to be a certain way that is really not realistic, and after my meeting with the people from the Guam branch, I want to see if we can do what they're doing.)

2. The weather has been surprisingly nice this week after all that awful heat the week before. Much muggier than I'd prefer, but at least it's cooler.

3. I got gas today and was pleasantly surprised to find that the price had not gone up since Monday when I filled up the other car. The last few times I'd been before, it was like 10-20 cents higher each time. D:

4. Ollie was very patiently waiting for lap time.

ysabetwordsmith

Our theme for this session was "World Cuisine." I wrote from 12 PM to 3:45 AM, so about 13 hours 45 minutes, allowing for lunch and supper breaks. I wrote 3 poem on Tuesday plus 3 later in the week.

Participation was up, with 7 comments on LiveJournal and another 40 on Dreamwidth. A total of 11 people sent prompts. There were no new prompters.

Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the March 3, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Confident Guesswork and Improvisation"
"Nuff Respect"
"Refusing to Melt"

"To Understand Water" (Polychrome Heroics, October 7, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl)

Buy some poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, see the unsold poetry list from March 3. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.

This month's donors include: [Bad username or unknown identity: janetmiles>, <user name=], and Anthony Barrette. All sponsored poems from this fishbowl have been posted. There are 0 tallies toward a bonus fishbowl.

The Poetry Fishbowl has a landing page.

Current Mood: busy

Profile

Tucker McKinnon

Words are inadequate

Adventures in Mamboland

"Jazz Fish, a saxophone playing wanderer, finds himself in Mamboland at a critical phase in his life." --Howie Green, on his book Jazz Fish Zen

Yeah. That sounds about right.

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Indeed do many things come to pass

Others

OTW Signal, March 2026

In the News

OTW Tips

Events of note: March

Interesting Links for 28-03-2026

RWNJs With Political Power, Rabbit-Holes and Canada (CW: anti-Canada rhetoric)

saturday

Split the diffrence

Challenge #1084: singularity

More Prince of Tennis posting

Fire & Water - Stargate SG-1 icons

Canadian Army overhaul looms as DND finalizes mobilization plans

3 tigers, hyena no longer with Wainfleet, Ont., owner despite efforts to fight exotic animal bylaw

🧊 First Impressions: The QuestGiver

I got troubled thoughts and the self-esteem to match

Philosophical Questions: Government

Wildlife

Japanese Maple?

This is a prayer to Baba Yaga; this is a prayer of resistance.

(no subject)

Daily Happiness

Poetry Fishbowl Report for March 3, 2026

Profile

Most Popular Tags

Adventures in Mamboland

Expand Cut Tags